


Letters to Sara

by Rosechyld



Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Eventual Scott/Reyes, Letters to My Sister, M/M, OC Sara Ryder, OC Scott Ryder, Other, Series of Oneshots, Teen for Swearing and Occaional Sex references, he's writing to his sister, nothing terribly graphic though cause I mean, suicide plot mention
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-14 16:00:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29048805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rosechyld/pseuds/Rosechyld
Summary: Lexi suggested I write these periodically to you so you have "A solid foundation to get settled upon once waking” (Her words, not mine) to give you an idea of what’s been happening since we got here. It’s not a terrible idea, I guess.Scott Ryder writes to his sister on and off throughout the journey of Mass Effect: Andromeda. (Gives me an excuse to do a bunch of small fluffy oneshots from my very handsome Scotty's brain directly to his sister, who he misses like air.)
Relationships: Male Ryder | Scott/Reyes Vidal, Ryder/Reyes Vidal
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

Hey Sara,

So Lexi suggested I write these periodically to you so you have "A solid foundation to get settled upon once waking” (Her words, not mine) to give you an idea of what’s been happening since we got here. It’s not a terrible idea, I guess. The Hot Doctor can't be completely wrong, can she? Plus I think she thinks she can get a better idea of how I tick too. 

(If that’s true, and you’re reading this Lexi, I absolutely will not apologize for describing you as hot to my sister. Stop being nosey.)

A lot has happened since we went to sleep 600 years ago. I wish I could say it had been quiet, a smooth trip to the other side of time and a new galaxy. Unfortunately that'd be lying, and.. well.. I know I told you about all this. About Dad and how things didn’t pan out with the whole "wake up to a new homeworld" promise the Initiate painted. I’m sorry.

Harry’s still mad at me that I didn’t make up some bullshit story, but like.. how am I supposed to lie to the other half of me? I haven't lied to you once in the 23 (six hundred and something) years we've been alive. I'm not about to start now. Besides if you found out I had lied you'd probably kill me, so.

Like I said, Habitat 7 didn’t pan out, but really almost none of the golden worlds have. Dads gone, and they put me in charge of the Pathfinder team, which… I mean, you’ve met Cora. She’s surprisingly good at not being mad at me, even though she’s absolutely pissed. Hell I'm mad for her. I couldn’t exactly turn it down though.

It's just one more thing Dad never fucking told us. Just the icing on the cake. I'm sure you didn't know, because you would have warned me, but also did you know we both went through gene altering therapy when we were sedated for cryo? Because apparently its standard procedure for any pathfinder and their second/third.

Like Cora. Who should have gone through the therapy but didn't/wasn't even aware that it was a THING. Because fuck you Alec Ryder knows best, that's why. He forged our signatures, Sar. Didn't even have the balls to just tell us about it. Or warn us about it. Or SOMETHING. Just what ever the fuck dad wants is what dad gets. Screw the consequences. And once Lexi, Harry, SAM and I all figured out that Dad had forged our signatures?

I am so angry, but I mean.. I know he was trying to keep us safe, too? And I can't tell if I should curse him in every language and hope someone's god hears it, or be grateful that he did. If he hadn’t then you probably would have died when your pod was disabled. Hell, I would have on Habitat 7 even without his intervention…

Still I mean.. what the fuck Dad? With the amount of bullshit you and I went through as kids? With my biotics? And mom's illness? Them treating you like a control group test dummy for all those years? And he just.. forges our signatures and puts us through medical hell because he's decided it's best for us. Doesn't even consult us. Just like always. if Lexi wasn’t so damned "normal person" I’d have spaced her ages ago. I fucking hate doctors.

I dunno, Sar. I wish it had been some kind of surprise that Dad would pull this kind of shit, but it's not. Just another disappointment to stack on the pile. Alec Ryder, the one makes life or death choices for everyone and fuck you if you don't agree because he's the N7, the Soldier, the First Contact Hero, the Military Atashe for Humanity.

Yanno, mister fucking perfect till he got himself discharged and both of us hard fucked. But it's fine right? It'll be fine. Dad knows best. Swallow the bitter pill. It's good for you, son. He spent so many years pushing me into the Alliance. Military school, Junior Marines, biotic boot camp, N School?

Just.. anything and everything to get me to follow in his footsteps. Sure. Until he goes and pushes AI on the Alliance because Alec Knows Best. The damn irony of it all is I was really looking forward to it, yanno? Maybe dad had been right, much as I hated i, but I was a GOOD fuckin soldier, even if it wasn't what I had wanted as a kid. Found my niche and was really flying and then…

Two years as a real marine, that's all I got. Two full years of being halfway decent at something for once in my life. Actually starting to enjoy it. Really wrap my head around the idea that yeah, I am good at this, could be GREAT at it with work.

Then dad happened, cause fuckin of course dad happened. Boom. Every single door shut. In our faces, right? You know all this. It wrecked your career too. All the commendations and my N1 meant shit compared to Alec Ryder Messing With AI. 

I got stuffed into the corner. Relay duty. Put the freaky biotic son of crazy Ryder out of sight where we don't have to worry about him anymore. Can't hurt anyone if you don't even have a gun. Sorry. Just.. venting. It's not as if it was any better for you either. But at least you got to pick what you wanted to do with your life…

Not that they didn’t fucking owe that to you. Or at least Dad. Mom tried to shield us from the worst of it. Went into the field because it was the best way to keep us safe. Dad though.. I mean, I was never your fault Sarebear. Never was gonna be mad at you for getting to have the choice to pick what you wanted out of life, yanno?

You of all people deserved to be free. Besides, shit assignments aside, I always loved that you could come visit me up at Charon. I dunno if I told you but like half my unit wanted to give it to you. They wouldn’t have dared attempted, but they did want to. 

Yanno, the half I wasn't sleeping with, anyway. Only good things that came out of my time there was not having to worry about the consequences of breaking regs and getting to spend more time with you.

Anyway I'm supposed to be telling you all about the bullshit I've been dealing with now, not remenising about the mountain of hot people I was fucking after dad fucked our careers, right? I mean.. There was that one guy who.. nevermind.

Anyway, the reason I couldn't just turn down the Pathfinder job is because Dad swapped SAM into my implant. I guess part of the "Pathfinder treatment" that all Pathfinders and their seconds get are specialty implants that house’ SAM. And he did something. “He” being SAM, I mean. 

SAM’s situation with the implant, and me almost dying to toxic air and brain damage from the fall I took changed the way my brain works. And he's just kind of a part of me now. Full time. SAM is just living in my head.. I guess? Lexi and SAM both tried to explain it to me, and I'm sure you'd probably understand it better then I do. I'm a soldier, not a scientist like you and mom, so I don’t really get it.

Anyway, the short version is, if we tried to remove him, I'll die. So I'm the Pathfinder, and Cora's not. And that’s kind of it, I guess. Being the Pathfinder is, a lot honestly. I did manage to settle my first outpost.

Or, no I didn’t really settle anything. I actually just killed a shipload (hah) of bad guys and turned on an old ass atmosphere scrubber sort of? You’d have loved to see it and I honestly can’t wait till you wake up so I can show it to you. SAM helped. 

But we did make it safe and clean and then the Nexus settled the outpost, which was cool to see. It was nuts watching how fast all the prefabs went down once the order was given. I should tell you about Addison sometime, but if Lexi is reading this maybe I’ll hold off just in case she reports me to the brass. 

Never can tell with those shifty doctor types.

Anyway, Eos has Prodromos now and it’s a science hub cause it’s what you would have chosen. Because they let me choose. Because they’re nuts and think I’m some kind of responsible person able to make those kinds of choices and not just a horny as fuck 20 something looking to shoot some motherfuckers and suck some dick.

I MEAN the other option was to have the military show up in force and even though it’s probably a good idea, we do have PLENTY of people to shoot at bad guys already thanks to the situation on the Nexus - long story I’ll tell you later.

I also got to meet a new alien species. Or, well, I guess we’re the aliens here but the Angara are really cool. I’ve got one on my ship now (Yeah I have my own ship, eat it). Jaal. I am kind of dying to introduce you. Because I know how much you were looking forward to Mingling with the Locals (please don’t hit me).

There’s a lot more, but I think instead I’m just going to say - Sarebear, I miss you so much it hurts. I can’t wait till you wake up fully and are running around kicking ass and terrorizing everyone like the pomeranian that you absofuckinglutely are. We can sit back, relax, and figure out who the hottest folks on the Nexus are (By species, gender, and cool factor right?). Then we can go exploring, anywhere you want.

Just.. wake up soon, okay Sarebear? 

Love you,

Scotty


	2. Eff Voeld

Sara,

Voeld is awful. Terrible. The. Worst.

Even my N school training couldn’t prepare me for it. Just. It’s fucking cold, Sarebear. Real cold. The most cold I have ever been and probably ever will be ever in my entire life. The cold void of actual space is less cold than Voeld is, and if I never have to come back ever again, it’ll be too soon.

Writing this as we take a trip across the planet in an angaran ship, on the way to rescue their great spiritual leader. They call her the Moshai and I’m pretty sure you would be in heaven if you could sit and pick Jaal’s brain about his people. 

Seriously. Think like... If back home the prothians were still alive? But they had been cut off from their tech for so long that they had to start from scratch. That’s what the Angaran are dealing with. 

The scourge that we hit? It wiped out huge swaths of their tech and cut them off from each other. So they’ve been flying blind for almost 80 years. Then when they just began to get back on their feet and start to reconnect with each other, the Kett showed up and blew all of that right out of the water. 

It’s nuts, Sarebear, but you’d love every single moment of it, uncovering mysteries. I’m not built for this. Give me a gun and a problem with “shoot it” as a solution any day. I’ll make it float and put holes in it. Problem Solved.

Anyway, I have a running theory that Peebee and I are working on with Sam. From what little we’ve seen of the Vault system, and the fact that the one on Eos pointed us directly to Aya (if I could be on Aya again instead of Voeld… I think my toes are going black, I swear.) I think the Angara are the people who originally created the Remnant tech. 

The scourge targets it almost to the detriment of everything else, and is largely what cuts them off from each other. I really think something bad happened or maybe it was sent by the Kett before they got here.

SAM agrees with me, but it’s just a theory. It’s not as if I’ve seen enough of the Remtech or the vaults to really know for sure. They could BE just like home - prothians died out and left behind juust enough old tech for us to figure out how to use. 

Yanno, like maybe the Angara just piggybacked off the tech already in place and became way more advanced than most milky way species in a much shorter time because of it. Kind of like the Asari, right?

Could be either of those things, or maybe none of them. I dunno. Like I said all this stuff is way more up your alley then mine. I sometimes feel like I’m being dragged down the river and my oars are back on the shore. So wake up already, oars, because I need so much to be able to bounce this kinda stuff off you.

Seriously, Sar, you’re so much better at all this then I am. It hurts so much that you’re not here with me. Also you’re like 95% of my impulse control and there’s no one to stop me when I go and do something just awful like... flirt with Cora, as an example.

No, I didn’t do anything with her, and I’m not at all into her. You know me, my default is Flirt and I don’t know how to turn it off. So I’ve pretty much flirted with everyone? Upside, I haven’t died yet. Lexi put the squash on it quickly, and Liam’s not into guys, which is a shame.

As for the rest of my crew.. Well.. 

I mean, Gill’s cute but in that ‘probably a control freak with trust issues’ kind of way? He’s a ship engineer, has one friend, and plays poker. You know, ‘Things are my way or the highway, no ifs or butts' ' kind of attitude. Which can be hot af, but not when I’m also technically his boss. 

Honestly, Vetra is also a control freak, but that doesn’t really surprise me at all. Turians are like that. Plus it sounds like she spent large swaths of her life raising her little sister so double the control issues. Not that I don’t think that’s really impressive, but still.

Lets see.. Peebee is fun but in a once or twice kinda way? Like it’d be a bone to remember but honestly that’s a lot of mess to hold together for longer then a FWB kinda situation. I already have enough problems right now. 

I don’t know if Jaal quite understands how human flirting works, if I’m honest with myself. He’s like a giant fucking cat man, Sare, excpet not fluffy? Purrs and everything, its nuts.

There's.. More. A lot more and I wish I could just sit and talk with you about all this, over drinks while lounging in the sun on Aya because ffuuuuuuuuuuuuck Voeld. But, they’re signaling that we’re going to be landing soon and I need to get my head on straight before we storm this kett base. 

I’ll write more once all this is settled and I have more to tell, and more opinions to share about the crew and their hotness levels. 

Love you,

Scotty


	3. Interlude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now for something completely different

He felt sick, red waves of anger washing over him as he put a bullet into the back of the skull of the one in charge, what ever her title was. He wasn’t going to sacrifice the lives of a thousand Angaran to blow up the place, but also wasn’t about to let this bitch live, either.

_Focus Scott. Deep breaths. Breath._

**SAM?**

_We still have a job to do. We must escort the Moshai to the shuttle, and there’s a large force of combatants coming this direction._

The voice in his head, ever calming, pulled him from his thoughts, the biotic energy bristling around his form subsiding as the rolling anger gave way to a fresh wave of panic.

“...Must get the Moshai out...” a voice outside of his head was saying. Who was talking?

_That would be Jaal, Scott.  
_

**Jaal? Oh, cosmos... Jaal…**

He felt the lump in his throat rise at the thought of Jaal. If this was bad for him, how much worse was it for Jaal?

**SAM?**

_Yes, Scott.  
_

He pulled his shotgun out.

**Lets shoot some motherfuckers in the face**

_Switching to Vanguard Profile_

* * *

Stress was not a new concept to him. 

It wasn’t as if he hadn’t chosen the life for himself, seen the incompetence of the so called leadership of the nexus or the brutality of Sloan and the exiles. He’d made the commitment, set his feet along the path, and worked his magic…

Hah, magic. Pretty words, a wink and a nod, knowing how to haggle, things he had learned back on earth, with his mother struggling to keep them afloat. Joining the Alliance at a younger-then-truthful age to help. Watching even that not be enough to keep her illness from tearing her down, tearing them apart.

He’d loved flying, and when the Initiative came calling, he jumped at the chance for something new. Something exciting, a chance to be someone different. To be something more then just a rank and file man doing something he luckily liked in service to the demons of health care billing systems.

Leave it behind. Leave the broken mess of his life and the bills and the torment of knowing that nothing he could have done would have fixed it, saved the woman who gave up everything for her child.

That had been his reasoning. New galaxy, new man. Leave the past behind him. It was sound, and if he had to do a few things that were less then sweet to get what he wanted, well, the outcome would be worth the sacrifices. You had to break a few eggs to make an omelet, after all.

He sighed, wondering again why these thoughts rolled through his mind. Staring at an endless line of emails that would bounce from system to system to cover trails that could lead back to him. The orange glow of his omni-tool the only light flickering in the darkness of his room.

His head pounded, a constant reminder of the frustrations of the life he had willingly walked into. Another email from Keema. Several more addressed from the Charlatan to the Charlatan. Layers upon layers of deceit, lies. All for the sake of a better tomorrow. At the cost of a better today.

Running his fingers through his hair, working out the knots, he quietly murmured to himself a reminder of the long game. The long game was the goal, and it would be worth it. Even if it often felt as if he were spinning his wheels. And it did. Things never quite went as smoothly as he intended, never panned out just how he had hoped.. 

His omni-tool blinked again. Another email. One that caused him to pause his internal grumblings, eyes flicking curiously as he noticed the name attached to it. Evfra de Tershaav, leader of the resistance had written him? Finally? After nearly a year of networking and go-between, Evfra was willing to communicate?

He selected the email, running a check of the path it had taken to get to him. Then, a secondary virus scan to make double sure it wasn’t sabotage before allowing it to flare up before him.

  
Shena,

You wanted your in. Find out who this Pathfinder of the Initiate is. What sort of man is this Ryder, and what is he hiding. If you do this, I will take Sholaon’s suggestion under advisement. 

Both his eyebrows rose in surprise, and he felt the laughter bubbling up in his chest. Ah, so the human ark had finally showed up, eh? About 14 months to late, to be honest, but, it was a task easily accomplished. If he ever half-assed anything, he could reply back right now. Every single human in Andromeda knew the story of Alec Ryder.

But no. If Evfra was willing to finally allow him access to the Resistance’s network, more then mere platitudes would suffice. It was time to call in a few favors.

First, to Sholaon. An interesting code name, all things considering, for the woman playing both sides in the shadow war for Kadara. It meant Orphan, roughly translated, which he could understand from the perspective of the Angara, but for the woman herself? Hardly suitable. 

No need for back channels for this, thankfully. Having Sloan know of his… friendship with Keema was a boon rather then a hindrance. It kept his suave smuggler position firmly in place, with no one the wiser of his true identity. If Sloan caught word that he was gathering information for the Angaran resistance… well, a few choice words to the right people, some proper information seeding, would keep him alive and in Sloan’s good graces, wouldn’t it? 

He stood and flicked the lights on, adjusted his shirt and double checked his reflection. Handsome as ever, he thought, pulling up the charming smile he had long ago perfected. Time to put on a show.

“Keema, lovely as ever,” he said as the call flourished to life in front of him. 

“Ah, Vidal. What do I owe the pleasure?” Keema replied, her tone of voice wary but warm none the less, as if half-expecting some outlandish request and not quite wanting to admit the excitement likely to come with it.

“I need a favor.”

Keema laughed, “You always need a favor, Vidal.”

“Ah but this one is easy. Can you get me in touch with the young man who recently joined the Exiles?”

“The one who came looking for his sister? Reyes, what is this about?” Keema asked, curiosity creeping into voice.

“I’m just looking for a bit of insight is all. Word on the street is he was kicked off the station, but the details are fuzzy and I’d like to find out why before I go offering my assistance in locating his family,” he smiled, his best, innocent, ‘I help people’ smile.

Keema chuckled, “And I’m guessing he was directed to you?”

“Well I am the best at finding things, my dear. Even comes with a bit of commission from the Queen herself. I’d be willing to share, maybe buy you dinner and a drink,”

“You’d actually pay?”

He hummed a moment as if mulling over the idea, “Well, only if it’s at Tartarus.”

Laughter bubbled up from Keema, “Oh Reyes, you never change, do you? Alright, I’ll send him over, but a promise is a promise, 60/40 as per the usual and you owe me dinner,”

“Thank you, Darling. I look forward to it,” he winked at the screen before hanging up. 

One down. Time to hunt down some people and call in a few more. Time to put on his Charlatan hat.

* * *

Scott ran his hands down his face and took a deep breath, water dripping slowly down his chin and into the sink. The face in the reflection looked tired, with dark rings forming beneath the aquamarine eyes that he shared with his twin. A pang of guilt stabbed at his heart and for a moment, was forced to hold his breath and count backwards from 10 to remind himself that he was alive and still breathing, the silence roaring in his ears so loud he felt as if he would explode.

_Ace, are you alright?_

SAM’s voice rung out in the silence, causing Scott to jump out of his own skin, bringing him back to reality.

**Yes SAM, I’m alright**

_Would you like me to check in with your sister?_

He paused before responding. Did he want him to? Get more of the same information? That Sara was still in a coma and out of his reach?

He'd spent the better part of three hours staring at the blinking cursor in his quarters, attempting to write his sister an updated letter. Write Sara letters, tell her the details. It had been so easy until now.

Now...

It was bad enough, doing all this alone. Coming to Andromeda had been a last minute, last ditch effort to stay connected to his sister, to the only person in the universe willing to put up with his bullshit. He hadn't planned on going. Sara had been the one to talk him into it.

No his plans had been entirely different. Wait till they were gone, burn through what ever savings was left over, swallow his pistol. Easier to implode then to continue on a razors edge with no support.

Not that they hadn’t been separated before. But he didn’t want to think about before. Besides, being utterly alone for two months was a lot different then being separated by 800 years. 

He didn't want to go back there, either. He was pretty sure he still hadn't managed to crawl out of that particular hole. Not completely. But he'd wanted too, which was why he'd let himself be talked into going with them.

Now?

**No SAM, I’m.. I'm alright.**

“Talking to yourself again, Ryder?”

Scott started, nearly dropping the towel tucked neatly around his waist. With a laugh, he muttered, “Sorry, didn’t realize I was talking out loud,” as he turned to face the voice that had spoken up. Thankfully, it was Liam, a wild grin on his face. He swallowed the bile building at the back of his throat, reminding himself that he was safe.

“I’m just givin’ you a hard time mate, can’t be easy having a robot in your head,” Liam slapped him on the shoulder and hefting a towel with his free hand, “All done in here?”

“Yeah man, just finished brushing my teeth. Shower’s all yours.”

“Cool, cool. By the way, Gil’s been looking for you. Bet he’s got an epic rant about Pilots in store for you,” Liam grinned, “Or yanno, maybe other things, eh?”

Scott groaned, “One of these days, Liam, I’m going to have to explain to you how being bi actually works.”

“Hey mate, I get it, just.. yanno.. SOMEONE’S gotta be your type, right?”

Ace wiggled his eyebrows, “Other then you, you mean?”

Liam laughed, “Right, that’s not gonna work anymore then it did the first time. Shutting down all options by hitting on the only straight guy on the ship ain’t healthy man.”

Scott sighed despite the playful conversation, turning his attention back towards the mirror as Liam began to undress, “You’re to observant for your own good, Kosta, you know that, right?”

“It’s my job, mate. Or, was. Lexi keeps trying to get me to help analyze everyone on the ship,” Liam’s voice muffed a bit as he ducked into the shower

“It couldn’t hurt to help out,”

Liam chimed back loudly over the flow of the water, “Nah man, I came here for adventure, not crisis analysis.”

“And I didn’t come here to get laid,” Ace muttered as he exited, though the sound of laughter from behind him indicated that Liam had heard him and probably didn't believe him.

After dressing, he headed on up to the drive core to speak with Gil. After a bit, it was agreed that they’d meet up to play poker on the next visit to the Nexus. Poker was okay, so long as it stayed in friendly territory. Gil was a good guy, and had it been, before, he might have taken the dive.. but, he knew better now.

Fraternization was never a good idea.

_I don't believe building relationships with your crew mates would be considered Fraternization, Scott._

**SAM…**

_The Initiative isn't a military organization._

**SAM, no. I mean.. yes, I know but.. that’s private.**

_Alright, Scott. I won’t pry farther._

**Thank you, SAM.**

* * *

  
“I can’t believe you found her! Thank you so much, Mr. Vidal,” The young man shook his hand, a little to roughly for Reyes’ taste, but he smiled none the less and patted him gently on the hand.

“I do what I can. Payment’s all transferred?” he asked, smiling openly to the young woman sitting across from him.

“Yes, thank you so much! I can’t believe The Collective came to get me. Those thugs were awful,” The relief on her face clear as the disgust in her voice. Despite the knowledge that she had willingly joined up with the Wolf gang… wolf gang, original that bunch. 

“Well, I just put the call out for a rescue job. I was hoping that the Exiles would pick it up. After all your brother is a member.” Reyes shrugged indifferently, as if the Exiles were the intended choice.

He knew that the whole of the station would know in a solar day that the Collective had rescued this girl, and his own name would be a foot note at best. Stories like that always ended up in the ears of the folks they needed to be. Sloan would brush it off, as per usual, to avoid looking as if she cared what the Collective were up to.

The young man bristled in his seat, “Yeah well, now I get why maybe folks are looking for something different around here. Didn’t really get it before.”

Reyas nodded in quiet agreement, “Just be careful who you tell that to. Looking at the Collective favorably is dangerous, for obvious reasons.”

“I hear that,” the young man smiled back at him and shook his hand again, for the third time. As the pair of siblings left, he shook his head and sent Keema her cut before sinking down into his couch to sort through the information gathered.

“Lets see… Ryder,” As he scrolled through the notes collected, he felt his eyebrow raise, “Alec died shortly after arriving in Andromeda… Pathfinder position transferred to his son. Scott “Ace” Ryder… former Alliance MP at Charon….”

He shifted, reaching for his drink, “.. notes of treatment for anxiety and depression, rightly so given the stagnation of his position, no doubt,” he muttered as he took a sip, if anyone knew to well the frustrations of the Alliance’s choices and their inability to see true potential, it was him.

He swiped to the next page, “twin sister left comatose after the Hyperion hit the scourge… That’s unfor… oh, what’s this?”

He sat up to invest his full attention, as there on the page in front of him came with a rather curious list.

  
⦁ Reprimanded for fraternization  
⦁ 6 months spent in brig  
⦁ Isolation, 60 days, for attack with biotics  
⦁ Court martial 

  
What the devil had this kid fallen into?

Thankfully enough, Davis Qar was an old friend and a fantastic investigative journalist when he tried. 

_Had to dig real deep to find this, treat it with care, or else. He's been doing good work.  
_

_Looks like Ryder Jr got involved with a senior officer and was outed. Wasn't in any of the files, someone worked pretty fucking hard to bury it, but the stories are pretty rough. Sounds like someone tried to “show him the consequences of his actions” while he was in the brig during the investigation._

_Real early on in the kid’s career, explains why they stuck him at Charon and left him to rot. Must’ve helped that Ryder Sr. was N7. Kid's biotic, pretty powerful one. Killed one of the attackers with a nasty backlash. Mental health treatments all started after he got out of isolation._

_60 days. Someone hated this kid. Never gave up an ounce of information on his attackers, or his lover, though. Good on him. Looks like the whole thing started as a witch hunt to get at the superior officer. Tough kid, took his lumps and kept on trudging._

  
Tough kid, indeed. All the rest of the reports spoke of recent progress made in Andromeda. The clearing of Eos, choosing science over military presence. Praise for his progress and kindheartedness. Treatment of the Angara reported as respectful and compassionate. Eager, even. He felt himself chuckle when one note mentioned the sass leveled at the Initiate Leaders.

He twisted his bottom lip between his fingertips as he finished reading, and sat back, “So our boy is sugar and salt, eh? Should be interesting.”

He smirked to himself, glad that the news seemed good about the Pathfinder. “A bit of hope after all. I like it,” and began to draft a letter.

Evfra,

Looks like our Pathfinder is good for his word. Give him a chance to help. You may be surprised what we humans are capable of when we have a good heart, and this kid has that in spades. Former Military. Came to Andromeda looking for adventure and to make up for past mistakes. Parents dead. Father was military and mother was a scientist. Has a stake in making sure the place is safe – a twin sister who’s alive but out of commission at the moment. Her record is squeaky clean too. Bit of an artifact hunter, could assign her to help dig out some history once she recovers, if you’re so inclined. 

He’s done some good things here. Will forward what I have so you can make your own decision. 

Shena

  
He scanned over the email, taking the time to carefully edit out the unsavory bits of Scott Ryder's personal history. While he himself was rather impressed at the younger mans fortitude, it wouldn’t do to tarnish the sterling reputation of the eager Pathfinder who had inadvertently opened brand new pathways to his long game, now would it?


End file.
